


Somebody once told me

by raptorix



Series: TimKon AUs [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Kmart, M/M, Where relationships blossom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 14:29:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9760859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptorix/pseuds/raptorix
Summary: It starts with movie night, a junk food spree, and the new vigilante in town. It doesn't end there.





	

**Author's Note:**

> yO my first fic in the fandom! Feedback and kudos are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Characters belong to DC Comics/Warner Bros. Title ripped straight from All Star by Smash Mouth. will i ever quit the old memes?? not if they're catchy

The Kmart, thankfully, was nearly empty save for a few people of questionable intent. Conner hovered nervously in the snacks aisle, debating on which sugary and delicious monstrosity he should grab before fucking it all and swiping half of the shelf into his arms. 

Next was soda. Conner didn't bother with deliberation this time, simply taking the first six two-liters he saw. It occured to him that perhaps using his TTK to collect random junk food items in the middle of a store was perhaps one of the most obvious things he could do, but then Conner realized that he was in his costume anyways and that the store was empty.

There was only one checkout line, manned by some scraggly-limbed teenager with dark hair and sunglasses on, for some reason. The teenager raised an eyebrow as Conner approached but didn't say anything.

Conner released his shopping onto the conveyor. It would have overflowed if not for a last-ditch _fuck-it_ use of Kon's TTK, which he reasoned couldn't do any more harm than he had already caused. Meanwhile, the cashier's eyebrows blended into his hairline.

"Buyin' for the team, then?" Conner thought it might have been a Gotham accent. 

"Yeah. It's, um, movie night." Wally had briefly explained the concept and left him to buy "gratuitous amounts of unhealthy food items" as he argued that he, as the one with experience in film and classic cinema, should pick the movie. Of course, he had explained this at ten o'clock at night and given him half an hour to get everything before he locked the base up. 

The food items still piled higher than Everest and the cashier couldn't reach the top, so Conner used TTK once more to carefully hand bags and bottles down. 

"Movie night." Sunglasses' tone remained carefully neutral as he scanned box after bag after bottle that Conner floated down.

"Movie night," Conner confirmed.

The two of them fell into a slightly awkward silence as Sunglasses continued to scan. It was taking a while, and Conner could feel his right foot starting to tap quickly against the ground.

Sunglasses seemed to sense that, and tried to offer a few golden nuggets of small talk. He was clearly, however, not the son of some Gotham socialite and instead mumbled a few lines.

Conner uncrossed his arms, crossed them again. In ten more minutes, Wally would lock him out. "Uh, sorry? I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, is this your first movie night?"

"Oh, yeah. Wa--Kid Flash said we were gonna watch some science classic thing. _Blade Wars_ or _Star Runner_ or some shi--whoops, I mean, _something_ like that."

The teenager stopped his steady, rhythmic scanning for a moment and looked up, meeting Conner's eyes behind the darkglasses. " _Dude._ Do not even _joke_ about this."

For the remaining three minutes' worth of snacks, Tim the Cashier brought Conner up to speed on science fiction and its classics, promising to lend him a copy of some long and oddly titled books. Conner didn't have the heart to tell him that he couldn't understand half of what he was talking about and settled for watching the other boy wave a carton of some disturbingly green baked goods around animatedly. Instead of bagging the food, Tim tossed each box haphazardly, allowing Conner to catch them. 

"Thanks for shopping at Kmart, have a good night," Tim recited, before adding on and grinning, "Superboy."

"You too, Tim," Conner smiled. 

With a minute to spare, he arrived back at base to cheers ( _for the snacks, not you, dum-dum_ reminded Wally). Playing that nght would be _Star Wars_ , extolled as a classic by both the cashier and Wally. 

The summary rolled up the screen, and yeah, Tim had covered this pretty in-depth. 

Conner shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth and chewed.

"SHHHH," hissed half of the group. The other half remained transfixed.

-

"Movie night again?"

"Mmhmm. Know anything about _Shrek_?"

Tim chortled. "I'll let you find out. You're not in as much of a hurry this time, are you?"

"Not really, I guess." A shrug. "Any movie recommendations? It'll be my turn to pick soon."

"You know, I bet your teammates would be pleasantly surprised if you pick _High School Musical_."

 "Seems kinda suspicious. 'High School'? 'Musical'?"

"Trust me on this one, okay? It's like multiplying negatives. Result's always positive."

Behind the tinted glasses Tim never took off, the cashier wore a smirk. Conner could just _tell_.

Whatever. It wasn't as though he was particularly familiar with cinema anyways. "I'll take your word for it, then."

Tim just nodded sagely. "Definitely, Superboy. Everyone needs to watch it at least once in their life."

"Sure thing, then." It could be hard to tell, sometimes, whether or not Tim was joking. Many rushed movie night shopping sprees ago, Conner had made the decision to simply stop questioning the other boy's motives. Plus, Tim's advice was usually all kinds of right, anyways. The guy was a genius, and Conner couldn't figure out what he was doing. Couldn't keep up.

A smile. "I think you'll like it a lot."

-

"Thank you for that movie recommendation, by the way."

"Oh, really?" Definitely smirking. Definitely. "Did you enjoy it?"

Conner gave an earnest nod. "Oh, yeah. I actually. Sort of understand what's up with high school now?"

In reply, Tim's smile softened. "I'm glad. So you're in high school? Seems like just yesterday you were zooming around Metropolis for the first time."

Superboy considered this. "It kinda was. I would tell you, but, like, secret identities and all that."

Tim seemingly let the topic go as he scanned yet another bag of Chicken Whizzes. "So, you guys actually go through all these Whizzies or just stockpile?" A strange segue, to say the very least, but it worked. The light tension that had pulled when Conner mentioned his personal life dissipated as they began to discuss the metabolic needs of each team member.

After all, if Conner had been in Tim's position, he woulda asked about the personal life of the superhero whose large quantities of junk food he was checking out. But then again, maybe not. Ma might never have forgiven him for invading some _nice young boy's_ privacy.

-

It wasn't for too long that the Kmart dodged trouble, though. Ironically, it was on what would've been a movie night that the team got called down to Sector 89, but to their surprise the situation had already been taken care of.

In the rubble, standing by a rather large monster-thing, was a figure clad in red and black. His caped back was towards them, but he turned to face the members of Young Justice as he heard them approach. The male was young: black hair, a staff, and a domino mask covering his eyes.

Kaldur'ahm demanded, "Who are you?" Around him, Cassie, Megan, Wally, Artemis, and Conner filed out, weapons at the ready or in stance.

The boy turned back to the monster and knelt on one knee to inspect it, replying, "Red Robin." He poked the thing.

"You're BatClan," realized Conner. "Why're you here?"

Facing the monster, Conner couldn't see his reaction, but he detected a minute pause and a brief heart-rate increase. Red Robin lived up to his family's legacy, however, and composed himself perfectly. "Investigation. Large Venom-dealing syndicate may have expanded to this area."

"Okay," Artemis said slowly. "Well, we're gonna need that...monster. Turn 'im over to the League and all that."

Red Robin shook his head. "Not necessary. From now until the closing of this case, this area is under the protection of the Batman and his associates. This is a matter pertaining strictly to Gotham, where he holds jurisdiction."

In front of Conner, Cassie growled softly. Conner tapped her shoulder lightly, in warning. This was BatClan. Not to be messed with. She relaxed, but only a little. The entire team was tense, on edge.

Meanwhile, Robin was at work attaching cables and putting together harnesses to transport the monster, probably back to his lair somewhere. As the thing lay unconscious Conner could start to see its human features emerge, form lessening and transfiguring.

On a whim, he called out, "Need any help?"

Robin jerked back, white lenses wide and open. "Huh? Um, no, I think I'm good."

"Okay, then," he yelled. "See you around."

Grabbing the limp form of the now-man and firing a grappling gun, Red Robin shouted back, "You too!" before being pulled off into the blue midday.

-

Conner half expected Tim to be absent the next time he showed up. It had only been a week, after all. Most employees didn't wanna show up to work too badly after a monster attack. Unless their employer was a monster, in which case it didn't really matter anyways. 

But there he was, shades and parted hair as usual, if significantly more black-and-blue than Conner remembered. 

"Hey," he greeted as Conner deposited that week's Cheese Whizzies inventory on the conveyor. "Where were you during that attack? All I got was some BatClan dude."

"Sorry about that." Conner rubbed the back of his neck. "You okay? I mean. Red Robin _did_ take pretty good care of it but maybe you should find somewhere else to work? Just for now?"

Tim shrugged, seemingly nonchalant about the whole ordeal. "Nah, doesn't matter. Anyhow, I'm from Gotham." His face became harder, a little more bitter and closed off. "I've seen this Venom shit and what it does before."

Conversation paused there for a moment. Feeling more than a little awkward, Conner rubbed the back of his neck harder. Christ. With his strength, he might've rubbed a hole in his skin.

Luckily, Tim finished bagging the Whizzies around then. He pulled the handles off of the rack and handed the five plastic bags stuffed possibly more than they should have been and tossed them at Conner, one by one. Painfully hard for someone so skinny. And still completely silent.

Conner decided a show of his powers just then, necessary or not, was not exactly wise and walked out with his arms full of Cheese Whizzies. 

-

The next time Conner went to the shop, Tim wasn't there. Just as well, one might say, seeing as he received an alarm for an armed robbery taking place only a few buildings down only a few minutes after his arrival. Though it shouldn't take long to get there at all, and it didn't, Superboy arrived in time to watch the tail end of Red Robin tying up a man in a ski mask.

"Oh, hey, Superboy. I can get this guy to the police, don't worry."

Conner took a step back. "How did you get here so fast?"

Hefting the robber over his shoulder, Red Robin replied, "I had my suspicions something like this might happen soon, so I staked out the place. I was right."

"So was it connected, to, y'know, the Venom thing?"

The vigilante fell silent for a moment. "That, I'm not sure."

-

Conner figured that a few weeks was more than enough time to let Tim simmer down over whatever had gotten his shades in a twist. And when he approached the counter with his customary treasure trove of snacks, Tim was waiting with a grin and no shades, revealing bright blue eyes.

"It's been a while. Hope you weren't giving business to the Walmart down the street," he said by way of greeting, with newly revealed eyes sparkling in mirth.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Hmph. Notice anything different?"

"A sparkling new personality?"

Tim gave a chuckle. "God, I wish. Naw, just took off my douche-shades."

"Makes a noticeable difference, man."

"Heh," Tim replied. "Thanks. I, uh, also wanted to say sorry to you for a few weeks back. I was just a bit...on edge, I guess would be the right phrase for it."

"Hey, no problem. I get it. I think I mighta unknowingly insulted Gotham a little bit? Yeah, I'm sorry too. Shouldn'ta done that. I mean, it's not like I've ever been there for more than three days at a time."

"Trust me, you're right about Gotham. I just...don't always wanna think about her like that. Not all the time, anyways."

"Oh, I see how it is," teased Conner. "Gothamites can make fun of their city, but if anyone else tries to, they get a batarang up the ass, courtesy of the Caped Crusader himself."

Laughing, Tim said, "Absolutely. So, what's the movie for this week?"

-

God, Conner felt stupid.

"Tim?" he asked, jaw hanging open wider than the Grand Canyon. " _You're_ Red Robin?"

Red-- _Tim_ answered, "Well, jeez, you don't have to act so surprised," and _there_ it was, that familiar undertone of playful sarcasm Conner'd come to know and appreciate over the course of many weeks' worth of junk-food raids.

"Huh, okay," returned Conner, still rather shocked. "Well, wanna go save the world together?"

"Sure thing, Supes."

Conner winced. Might as well tell him, though; Bats were supposed to be notoriously difficult in letting people in. (At least according to Clark, and if the Batman had rebuffed Clark Kent's attempts at friendship, even initially, then Conner knew that they were the epitome of closed off. Clark had mumbled something about a yacht and a party but remained staunchly firm about not telling Conner what really went down.)

"You can call me Conner, if you want."

Tim snapped a finger and pointed at him. "There is definitely more to that story, you owe me, after we finish this we are heading to this really nice coffee place I know and eating like 80 donuts."

Conner felt a fond smile spreading over his face. This is what was missing. Names to the faces, old faces to new names. 

-

"So I heard you went out on a date with that kid from the store you always go to," started Cassie. "Congrats, he looks like a hot piece of ass."

Startled, Conner stared at Wonder Girl intently. "What? Oh, did you mean the coffee meet? No, that wasn't a date."

(In the distance he heard Wally yelling faintly from the kitchen like the eight-year-old he secretly was and Conner was not, "Conner's got a daaaaate! Conner's got a daaaaate!")

Cassie shared a small, secret smile with the nearby Artemis. Conner could sense it. They were communicating with only their eyebrows about Girl Things. 

Teased Megan, who left Wally to join in the conversation, "Don't start blowing off movie night for this mysterious boyfriend of yours."

Conner huffed. "Can we _please_ not talk about this? He's not my boyfriend, all right?" He flopped down on the couch, falling into the butt-shaped imprints left by the team's regular movie nights, switching on the TV. It was clear, however, that Wally had been watching his beloved celeb news once again, and a gossip rag-worthy headline ran across the screen. It read: _Adopted Son of Billionaire Seen With New Boyfriend?_ and featured a nice, blown-up picture of Tim and Conner sitting in the coffee shop, looking very much the happy couple. 

Conner just about fell off the couch.

-

"Hey," Conner's hands were in his pockets as he walked over to Tim where they were meeting near the Kmart. "So, I didn't know you were famous."

Tim grimaced. "Shit, you saw that, huh?"

"I mean, it's no big deal. You're still...you, right?"

"Yeah. I--I'm the same person I was as a cashier, and as Red Robin."

Conner nodded. 

"I also quit my job." Tim blurted out. "I only started in the first place to use it as a base of operations. Uh, not that I didn't enjoy working there, or anything. That was just my primary movtive."

"So I figured. You're not exactly in need of extra money, are you?"

"Ha, no. Not really. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I guess I just...a lot of people do know me? I mean, that's why I wore those ridiculous shades all the time."

"Ha. I'm not super up to speed with celebs and stuff still." Conner offered a rueful smile, spreading his hands in a sort of what-am-I-gonna-do-about-it gesture.

Tim thought for a moment. "Well, if you're not too worn out from the light of scandal that has been shined upon your life, then I bet we could get you caught up over coffee again."

This time, Conner's grin was large and nearly blinding. "Yeah. Sounds good."

-

Wally waved a newspaper at him, displaying the headlines too gleefully for someone whose friend was about to be dissected and scrutinized in every aspect, not unlike a small animal, by the media.

"Did you see this!" he crowed with his eyebrows waggling in delight. "Conner's made the front page! _Again!_ "

Cassie snatched it up. "Let me see!" She spent a few moments poring over the article. "Well, Clark certainly didn't write this, but hear it out: 'Tim Drake, adopted son of billionaire Bruce Wayne went on another date with his mysterious, attractive aquaintance! Drake denies that they are in a relationship, but this reporter thinks that there could be something more! What do you think?'" That part was spoken in a nasal tone. "Christ, can't the kid have a friend without being accused of dating 'em?"

"Your friend, the one who works at the grocery store you frequent, is the adopted son of a billionaire?" injected Kaldur, who must not have been there for the last conversation along the same vein, or had instead sensibly tuned it out. 

"They think _Conner_ is attractive?" Wally ribbed.

Conner sighed.

-

"I hope it's not too bad."

"No, of course not." Taking a sip of his latte, Conner reconsidered. "I mean, kinda. But the coffee makes up for it. So."

"Sooo, you don't mind the photographers outside this very window right now."

"Nope." Conner popped the 'p'.

"All right, then." Tim noted, mostly to himself. 

-

"Hey, Kon? would you be willing to try something a little different?" asked Tim, bouncing a little on his toes with almost as much energy as Wally. He was nervous, figured Conner, but about what he couldn't tell.

"Sure?" Conner replied, sounding very unsure indeed.

"Great. Great," Tim exhaled deeply. "So...would you wanna maybe go out? With me? For dinner, like as in a date?"

And yeah, Conner was just a teeny bit floored. When Tim had said "different", Conner'd thought he'd meant different as in Tuesdays instead of Sundays or something along that line. This was a completely different line. Different plane, even. "Um."

"It's like, it's fine if you don't. But I like you and it's not like half the people in Gotham don't think we're dating? Like, _Bruce_ asked me about you yesterday. Bruce. If he notices something, it's gotta be pretty obvious. Unless it comes to crime. He's pretty good there. But--"

"Tim--"

"So will you go out with me?"

-

"Kon, at least let me buy the candy!"

Conner smiled at his boyfriend. "No, I'm the one who always eats the candy. And the popcorn. So I should pay for it."

"Well, it's no good on a date to pay for yourself," argued Tim. 

"Give up already! You paid for the last date at that really fancy place and now I'm gonna have to pay for the next twelve dates," Conner griped, but there was fondness in his voice.

"But here's the cool thing about dating the billionaire's son: you don't have to pay!"

"And here's the cool thing about dating a great guy: it doesn't feel like I'm hardly payin' anything!"

Tim let that sink in for a moment. "Jeez, you're so freaking cheesy. Cheesier than those cheeseballs you bought that first time you came to the Kmart."

"I'm your cheeseball, though?"

"Yeah. You are."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and happy International Fanworks Day!


End file.
